Experimental and kinetic modeling studies were carried out on the conversion a wood-oil obtained from high pressure liquefaction of aspen poplar wood to liquid hydrocarbon fuels and useful chemicals in a fixed bed micro-reactor using HZSM-5 catalyst. Similar experiments were conducted using silicalite, H-mordenite, H-Y and amorphous silica-alumina catalysts. <p> Preliminary vacuum distillation studies showed that the wood-oil was made up of volatile and non-volatile fractions. A maximum yield of 62 wt% volatiles at 200 °C, 172 Pa was obtained. The volatile fraction consisted of over 80 compounds. These compounds were comprised of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, furans, phenols and some hydrocarbons. The characteristics of the oil showed that it was unstable with time, i.e., its physical properties and chemical composition changed with time probably due to the reaction of free radicals or the oxidative coupling of some of the wood-oil components. However, when the oil was mixed with tetralin, the stability improved. <p> Upgrading studies were first conducted over inert berl saddles in the presence and absence of steam (i. e. non-catalytic treatment/blank runs). Yields of hydrocarbons were between 16 and 25 wt% of the wood-oil. High residue fractions of between 32 to 56 wt% were obtained after processing. Some portions of wood-oil formed a carbonaceous material (char or coke) when exposed to the experimental temperatures. The chars (coke) fraction increased with temperature from 4.7 to 12.5 wt% when processing with steam and 8.0 to 20.4 wt% when processing without steam. <p> Catalytic upgrading studies were first carried out using HZSM-5 catalyst in the presence and absence of steam. The results showed that approximately 40 to 65 wt% of the oil could be converted to a hydrocarbon-rich product (i.e. desired organic liquid product (distillate). This contained about 45 to 70 wt% hydrocarbons with selectivities ranging between 0.47 to 0.88. This fraction was highly aromatic in nature and consisted mainly of benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX compounds) and other alkylated benzenes within the gasoline boiling point range. The yield and selectivities were strong functions of the process time and temperature. A comparison between the two processes, i.e. upgrading in the presence and absence of steam, showed that about 30 to 45 % reduction in coke formation and 5 to 18 wt% increase in organic distillate could be achieved when processing in the presence of steam. These changes were probably due to changes in the rates of cracking, deoxygenation, aromatization and polymerization reactions resulting from the competitive adsorption processes between steam and wood-oil molecules in addition to changes in contact time of molecules. However, the selectivity for hyqrocarbons decreased in the presence of steam. <p> Yields of organic distillate fractions of between 72 to 93 wt% and hydrocarbon yields and selectivities of 44 to 51 wt% and 0.93 to 1.13, respectively, were obtained when wood-oil volatile fraction was upgraded over HZSM-5 after separation from the non-volatile fraction by vacuum distillation. <p> The spent HZSM-5 catalyst could be easily regenerated and reused with little change in its performance. <p> The yields and selectivities for hydrocarbons when upgrading with the other catalysts were between 9 and 22 wt%, and 0.12 and 0.29, respectively for silicalite, 16 and 28 wt%, and 0.22 and 0.28, respectively for H-mordenite, 15.5 and 21 wt%, and 0.17 and 0.21, respectively for H-Y and S.5 and 26.2, and 0.13 and 0.36, resrectively for silica-alumina. Compared to HZSM-5 (yield between 34 and 43 wt%, selectivity of 0.66 to O.SS) these yields and selectivities were much lower. These experiments also showed that the pore size, acidity and shape selectivity of the catalyst influenced the distribution of hydrocarbons in terms of the carbon number. The yield and selectivity of H-mordenite and H-Y (large pore zeolites) were mostly for kerosene range hydrocarbons (C_{<font size=2>9</font>} to C_{<font size=2>15</font>}) and for silicalite and HZSM-5 (medium pore zeolites) for gasoline range hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon fraction from amorphous silica-alumina did not show any defined distribution. The performance followed the order: HZSM-5> H-mordenite> H-Y> Silicalite, Silica-alumina.<p> With the aid of model compound reactions involving acetic acid methyl ester, propanoic acid, 4-methylcyclohexanol, methylcyclopentanone, 2-methylcyclopentanone, methoxybenzene, ethoxybenzene, phenol, 2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl) phenol, a synthetic and wood-oil volatile, two reaction pathways were proposed to explain the chemical steps through which the final products of upgrading were obtained. Also, reaction pathways were proposed for each chemical group. These experiments showed that the final products were formed probably through cracking, deoxygenation, olefin formation, oligomerization, hydrogen and hydride transfer, cyclization, isomerization, alkylation and polymerization reactions. <p> Rate models were derived based upon the two reaction pathways and the power law rate model. The rates of formation of products followed the general order: Organic distillate> Hydrocarbons> Residue> Coke> Gas >Aqueous Fraction. Estimates of the values of the kinetic parameters showed that the rate constants ranged between 10^{<font size=2>-6</font>} (aqueous fraction) and 1.81 (volatile fraction), activation energies between 6.7-76.0 x 10^{<font size=2> 3</font>} KJ/Kmol and reaction orders from 0.7 (gas formation) to 2.5 (residue formation). Two mathematical models were derived based on the integral reactor design equation and on the two reaction pathways. This was used to estimate the yield of products. The models predicted the experimental results fairly accurately. Model discrimination showed that the model based on coke and residue formation from both volatile and non­-volatile fractions of the wood-oil best predicted the experimental results.<p> Hydrocarbon selectivity relations which were based on coke, residue and combined coke and residue as undesired products were also derived. Application of these relations showed that lower temperatures and concentrations were most appropriate for higher hydrocarbon selectivity. However, this was at the expense of higher conversions.

Experimental and kinetic modeling studies were carried out on the conversion a wood-oil obtained from high pressure liquefaction of aspen poplar wood to liquid hydrocarbon fuels and useful chemicals in a fixed bed micro-reactor using HZSM-5 catalyst. Similar experiments were conducted using silicalite, H-mordenite, H-Y and amorphous silica-alumina catalysts. <p> Preliminary vacuum distillation studies showed that the wood-oil was made up of volatile and non-volatile fractions. A maximum yield of 62 wt% volatiles at 200 °C, 172 Pa was obtained. The volatile fraction consisted of over 80 compounds. These compounds were comprised of acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, furans, phenols and some hydrocarbons. The characteristics of the oil showed that it was unstable with time, i.e., its physical properties and chemical composition changed with time probably due to the reaction of free radicals or the oxidative coupling of some of the wood-oil components. However, when the oil was mixed with tetralin, the stability improved. <p> Upgrading studies were first conducted over inert berl saddles in the presence and absence of steam (i. e. non-catalytic treatment/blank runs). Yields of hydrocarbons were between 16 and 25 wt% of the wood-oil. High residue fractions of between 32 to 56 wt% were obtained after processing. Some portions of wood-oil formed a carbonaceous material (char or coke) when exposed to the experimental temperatures. The chars (coke) fraction increased with temperature from 4.7 to 12.5 wt% when processing with steam and 8.0 to 20.4 wt% when processing without steam. <p> Catalytic upgrading studies were first carried out using HZSM-5 catalyst in the presence and absence of steam. The results showed that approximately 40 to 65 wt% of the oil could be converted to a hydrocarbon-rich product (i.e. desired organic liquid product (distillate). This contained about 45 to 70 wt% hydrocarbons with selectivities ranging between 0.47 to 0.88. This fraction was highly aromatic in nature and consisted mainly of benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX compounds) and other alkylated benzenes within the gasoline boiling point range. The yield and selectivities were strong functions of the process time and temperature. A comparison between the two processes, i.e. upgrading in the presence and absence of steam, showed that about 30 to 45 % reduction in coke formation and 5 to 18 wt% increase in organic distillate could be achieved when processing in the presence of steam. These changes were probably due to changes in the rates of cracking, deoxygenation, aromatization and polymerization reactions resulting from the competitive adsorption processes between steam and wood-oil molecules in addition to changes in contact time of molecules. However, the selectivity for hyqrocarbons decreased in the presence of steam. <p> Yields of organic distillate fractions of between 72 to 93 wt% and hydrocarbon yields and selectivities of 44 to 51 wt% and 0.93 to 1.13, respectively, were obtained when wood-oil volatile fraction was upgraded over HZSM-5 after separation from the non-volatile fraction by vacuum distillation. <p> The spent HZSM-5 catalyst could be easily regenerated and reused with little change in its performance. <p> The yields and selectivities for hydrocarbons when upgrading with the other catalysts were between 9 and 22 wt%, and 0.12 and 0.29, respectively for silicalite, 16 and 28 wt%, and 0.22 and 0.28, respectively for H-mordenite, 15.5 and 21 wt%, and 0.17 and 0.21, respectively for H-Y and S.5 and 26.2, and 0.13 and 0.36, resrectively for silica-alumina. Compared to HZSM-5 (yield between 34 and 43 wt%, selectivity of 0.66 to O.SS) these yields and selectivities were much lower. These experiments also showed that the pore size, acidity and shape selectivity of the catalyst influenced the distribution of hydrocarbons in terms of the carbon number. The yield and selectivity of H-mordenite and H-Y (large pore zeolites) were mostly for kerosene range hydrocarbons (C_{<font size=2>9</font>} to C_{<font size=2>15</font>}) and for silicalite and HZSM-5 (medium pore zeolites) for gasoline range hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon fraction from amorphous silica-alumina did not show any defined distribution. The performance followed the order: HZSM-5> H-mordenite> H-Y> Silicalite, Silica-alumina.<p> With the aid of model compound reactions involving acetic acid methyl ester, propanoic acid, 4-methylcyclohexanol, methylcyclopentanone, 2-methylcyclopentanone, methoxybenzene, ethoxybenzene, phenol, 2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl) phenol, a synthetic and wood-oil volatile, two reaction pathways were proposed to explain the chemical steps through which the final products of upgrading were obtained. Also, reaction pathways were proposed for each chemical group. These experiments showed that the final products were formed probably through cracking, deoxygenation, olefin formation, oligomerization, hydrogen and hydride transfer, cyclization, isomerization, alkylation and polymerization reactions. <p> Rate models were derived based upon the two reaction pathways and the power law rate model. The rates of formation of products followed the general order: Organic distillate> Hydrocarbons> Residue> Coke> Gas >Aqueous Fraction. Estimates of the values of the kinetic parameters showed that the rate constants ranged between 10^{<font size=2>-6</font>} (aqueous fraction) and 1.81 (volatile fraction), activation energies between 6.7-76.0 x 10^{<font size=2> 3</font>} KJ/Kmol and reaction orders from 0.7 (gas formation) to 2.5 (residue formation). Two mathematical models were derived based on the integral reactor design equation and on the two reaction pathways. This was used to estimate the yield of products. The models predicted the experimental results fairly accurately. Model discrimination showed that the model based on coke and residue formation from both volatile and non­-volatile fractions of the wood-oil best predicted the experimental results.<p> Hydrocarbon selectivity relations which were based on coke, residue and combined coke and residue as undesired products were also derived. Application of these relations showed that lower temperatures and concentrations were most appropriate for higher hydrocarbon selectivity. However, this was at the expense of higher conversions.

<p>Glycerol is one of the by-products of transesterification of fatty acids for the production of bio-diesel. Value-added products such as hydrogen, wood stabilizers and liquid chemicals from catalytic treatment of glycerol can improve the economics of the bio-diesel production process. Catalytic conversion of glycerol can be used for production of value-added liquid chemicals. In this work, a systematic study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of operating conditions on glycerol conversion to liquid chemical products in the presence of acid catalysts. </p><p>Central composite design for response surface method was used to design the experimental plan. Experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor using HZSM-5, HY, silica-alumina and ã-alumina catalysts. The temperature, carrier gas flow rate and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) were maintained in the range of 350-500 oC, 20-50 mL/min and 5.40-21.60 h -1, respectively. </p><p>The main liquid chemicals detected in liquid product were acetaldehyde, acrolein, formaldehyde and hydroxyacetone. Under all experimental conditions complete glycerol conversion was obtained over silica-alumina and ã-alumina. A maximum liquid product yield of approximately 83 g/100g feed was obtained with these two catalysts when the operating conditions were maintained at 380 oC, 26 mL/min and 8.68 h-1. Maximum glycerol conversions of 100 wt% and 78.8 wt% were obtained in the presence of HY and HZSM-5 at temperature, carrier gas flow rate and WHSV of 470 oC, 26 mL/min and 8.68 h-1. HY and HZSM-5 produced maximum liquid product of 80.9 and 59.0 g/100 g feed at temperature of 425 and 470 oC, respectively.</p><p>Silica-alumina produced the maximum acetaldehyde (~24.5 g/100 g feed) whereas ã-alumina produced the maximum acrolein (~25 g/100 g feed). Also, silica-alumina produced highest formaldehyde yield of 9g/100 g feed whereas HY produced highest acetol yield of 14.7 g/100 g feed. The effect of pore size of these catalysts was studied on optimum glycerol conversion and liquid product yield. Optimum conversion increased from 80 to 100 wt% and optimum liquid product increased from 59 to 83.3 g/100 g feed when the pore size of catalyst was increased from 0.54 in case of HZSM-5 to 0.74 nm in case of HY, after which the effect of pore size was minimal.

<p>Glycerol is one of the by-products of transesterification of fatty acids for the production of bio-diesel. Value-added products such as hydrogen, wood stabilizers and liquid chemicals from catalytic treatment of glycerol can improve the economics of the bio-diesel production process. Catalytic conversion of glycerol can be used for production of value-added liquid chemicals. In this work, a systematic study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of operating conditions on glycerol conversion to liquid chemical products in the presence of acid catalysts. </p><p>Central composite design for response surface method was used to design the experimental plan. Experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor using HZSM-5, HY, silica-alumina and ã-alumina catalysts. The temperature, carrier gas flow rate and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) were maintained in the range of 350-500 oC, 20-50 mL/min and 5.40-21.60 h -1, respectively. </p><p>The main liquid chemicals detected in liquid product were acetaldehyde, acrolein, formaldehyde and hydroxyacetone. Under all experimental conditions complete glycerol conversion was obtained over silica-alumina and ã-alumina. A maximum liquid product yield of approximately 83 g/100g feed was obtained with these two catalysts when the operating conditions were maintained at 380 oC, 26 mL/min and 8.68 h-1. Maximum glycerol conversions of 100 wt% and 78.8 wt% were obtained in the presence of HY and HZSM-5 at temperature, carrier gas flow rate and WHSV of 470 oC, 26 mL/min and 8.68 h-1. HY and HZSM-5 produced maximum liquid product of 80.9 and 59.0 g/100 g feed at temperature of 425 and 470 oC, respectively.</p><p>Silica-alumina produced the maximum acetaldehyde (~24.5 g/100 g feed) whereas ã-alumina produced the maximum acrolein (~25 g/100 g feed). Also, silica-alumina produced highest formaldehyde yield of 9g/100 g feed whereas HY produced highest acetol yield of 14.7 g/100 g feed. The effect of pore size of these catalysts was studied on optimum glycerol conversion and liquid product yield. Optimum conversion increased from 80 to 100 wt% and optimum liquid product increased from 59 to 83.3 g/100 g feed when the pore size of catalyst was increased from 0.54 in case of HZSM-5 to 0.74 nm in case of HY, after which the effect of pore size was minimal.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(エネルギー科学) / 甲第24712号 / エネ博第455号 / 新制||エネ||85(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院エネルギー科学研究科エネルギー社会・環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 河本 晴雄, 教授 亀田 貴之, 教授 髙野 俊幸 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Energy Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

This project was a cooperation between the division of Chemical Technology at KTH, Cortus Energy and Haldor Topsoe A/S. The goal was to build up a totally new setup for converting and deoxygenate pyrolysis bio-oil, in order to increase the performance of Cortus Energy’s WoodRoll process. Therefore an iron based catalyst from Haldor Topsoe was used. The building up of the new setup with all reactors and the control panel was a complicated and time-consuming work. This led to an only short time slot for performing experiments, which means that more work needs to be done to get more valuable results. The most important success of this project was to get all the knowledge about the system and to make everything (the whole experimental setup) running properly. However, the sampling system needs to be improved before making further experiments. The experiments which have been done show promising results and that the iron based catalyst was working well for converting the bio-oil. During the two hour long experiment there were not shown any indications of deactivation, when looking at the gas compositions, but the results from temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) show carbon deposition on the catalyst and the BET surface also shows a slight decrease in surface area.

The use of hierarchically organized nanoporous materials has proven to be well suited for counteracting transport hindrance in micropores and the resulting reduction in their technological performance. As a typical example, we consider materials with the structure of mesoporous zeolites, where a microporous continuum is traversed by a network of mesopores. Mass transfer in such material has recently been shown to be effectively quantitated by application of the two-region approach of diffusion (the “Kärger model”). It operates with the diffusivities in the two pore spaces, their relative occupations and the mutual exchange rates as the only free parameters. In the present paper, the validity of this approach for the combined consideration of mass transfer and catalytic conversion in such materials will be confirmed by comparison with the outcome of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.

[pt] Nos últimos anos, a crescente preocupação com o meio ambiente tem impulsionado o desenvolvimento de processos alternativos e sustentáveis para a obtenção de compostos importantes na indústria química. O isobuteno é um hidrocarboneto, comumente utilizado como intermediário para a síntese de diversos produtos, como polímeros e aditivos de combustíveis. A principal forma de produção desse hidrocarboneto é a partir do craqueamento da nafta, pelo qual é produzido como um coproduto por uma via dependente de fontes fósseis. Para atender à demanda de isobuteno associado a uma produção sustentável, novos estudos têm sugerido a síntese dessa olefina a partir da conversão catalítica de compostos como o etanol, uma matériaprima renovável que pode ser obtida a partir do processamento de diferentes biomassas. Experimentos recentes mostraram que uma mistura física In2O3+ZrO2 apresenta o mesmo desempenho de catalisadores In2O3/ZrO2, sendo ambos promissores para esse tipo de reação química. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo consiste em investigar esta mistura física como catalisador na síntese do isobuteno a partir do etanol. Nesta pesquisa, os catalisadores In2O3, ZrO2 e uma mistura física In2O3+ZrO2 foram avaliados por testes catalíticos em leito fixo e caracterizados pelas técnicas de DRX, XPS, EPR, TPD (CO, CO2, isopropanol, etanol e acetona), Fisissorção de N2, TPR-H2 e espectroscopia de infravermelho com adsorção de piridina. Os resultados revelam que a mistura física apresenta uma atividade catalítica superior ao In2O3 e ao ZrO2 puros, sendo capaz de formar isobuteno com uma seletividade de 36 por cento. O efeito sinérgico desses dois óxidos é verificado, resultando na formação de vacâncias catiônicas e aniônicas no catalisador MF, bem como promovendo as propriedades redox e básicas do sistema. / [en] In recent years, the growing concern with the environment has driven the development of alternative and sustainable processes to obtain important compounds in the chemical industry. Isobutene is a hydrocarbon commonly used as an intermediate for the synthesis of various products such as polymers and fuel additives. The main form of the production of this hydrocarbon is from the cracking of naphtha, by which it is produced as a co-product by a pathway dependent on fossil sources. To meet the demand for isobutene associated with sustainable production, new studies have suggested the synthesis of this olefin from the catalytic conversion of compounds such as ethanol, a renewable raw material that can be obtained from the processing of different biomasses. Recent experiments have shown that an In2O3+ ZrO2 physical mixture (MF) has the same performance as In2O3/ZrO2 catalysts, both of which are promising for this type of chemical reaction. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate this physical mixture as a catalyst in the synthesis of isobutene from ethanol. In this research, the In2O3, ZrO2 catalysts and an In2O3+ZrO2 physical mixture were evaluated by fixed bed catalytic tests and characterized by the techniques of XRD, XPS, EPR, TPD (CO, CO2, isopropanol, ethanol and acetone), N2 physisorption, TPR-H2 and infrared spectroscopy with pyridine adsorption. The results show that the physical mixture has a catalytic activity superior to pure oxides, In2O3 and ZrO2, being able to form isobutene with a selectivity of 36 percent. The synergistic effect of these two oxides is verified, resulting in the formation of cationic and anionic vacancies in the MF catalyst, as well as promoting the redox and basic properties of the system.